Outdoor Kitchen Guides & Tips | Stono Outdoor Living Co.

Coastal outdoor kitchen failure starts where you can't see it, not on the exterior surface. This diagnostic guide walks through a five-step inspection: assessing the exterior finish correctly, opening every door and drawer, testing hardware under physical load, checking the base and utility penetrations, and making an informed repair-or-replace call.

The five-mile marine-grade rule is a starting point, not a hard cutoff. This guide breaks down what actually changes at 1, 5, and 10 miles from the coast, and why wind exposure, elevation, and proximity to tidal water can matter more than the mileage number itself when specifying materials for your property.

Salt air works slowly and invisibly until the damage is obvious. This guide lays out a coastal maintenance routine by proximity to the water: weekly rinses, quarterly deep cleans, safe products for marine-grade aluminum, hurricane season prep, and the signs that tell you when a kitchen has moved from needing maintenance to needing replacement.

Wondering what installation day actually looks like once your Stono kitchen ships? This guide walks through the full process, from prepping your patio surface and utility rough-ins to placement, leveling, and connecting utilities. Learn what you handle yourself, what requires a licensed trade, and what to expect in the first 30 days.

Written for trade partners handling a Stono installation, this guide covers the full scope of the job: pre-delivery rough-ins and permit requirements, the section placement and leveling sequence on delivery day, how to route utilities into the cabinet, and what to confirm at close-out before handing the kitchen off to the client.

The six weeks between ordering and delivery are prime site prep time, not downtime. This guide walks through exactly what to handle each week: confirming your surface is cured, getting your contractors the right connection specs, measuring your delivery path, and scheduling licensed trades so delivery day is a celebration instead of a scramble.

Pool water off-gasses chlorine and chloramines constantly, creating a chemical environment that most "marine-grade" outdoor kitchen materials weren't actually built to handle. This post breaks down what pool chemistry does differently than salt air alone, why hardware (not cabinetry) usually fails first, and how to actually read a spec sheet for pool suitability, down to which grade of stainless steel belongs on which component.

Building an outdoor kitchen near the coast takes the same site prep as any install, plus a few extra calls that determine whether it lasts 15 years or 5. This checklist covers gas and electrical rough-ins, delivery access, and the coastal-specific factors that matter most: marine-grade aluminum vs. stainless steel, architectural-grade powder coating, deck load ratings, code-required grill clearances, and tie-down straps for wind and hurricane zones.

From delivery truck to dinner in hours. A Stono outdoor kitchen ships preassembled or ready to connect with a simple tab-and-slot system. Homeowners handle placement, leveling, and appliance seating with basic tools, while licensed trades take care of the quick final gas, electrical, and water hookups. Here's exactly what installation day looks like, start to finish.